In a surprising turn of events, Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, has come out in strong support of Boeing, the beleaguered US planemaker. O'Leary's support comes despite his scathing comments about Boeing's management in the past, where he criticized them as "headless chickens."

On Monday, O'Leary expressed his confidence in Boeing CEO David Calhoun and CFO Brian West, stating that they are doing a good job in turning the company around. He emphasized that safety is their number one priority, pushing back against criticism from other airline customers who have raised concerns following the mid-flight breakage incident on a Boeing aircraft earlier this month.

As Europe's largest airline, Ryanair is one of Boeing's biggest customers, and the success of the planemaker is crucial to the budget carrier's growth. However, repeated delays in the delivery of Boeing aircraft have hampered Ryanair's expansion plans.

O'Leary's backing of Boeing is a rare show of support for the company, which has faced criticism from other carriers such as Alaska, American, and United, following the recent incident where a part of a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft detached mid-flight, forcing an emergency landing.

Boeing's CEO, David Calhoun, who took over the top job in January 2020, is under close scrutiny from customers, regulators, and investors. Shareholders have suffered heavy losses, with Boeing's stock declining approximately 17% since the January 5th incident.

The incident has also cast doubt on Boeing's ability to secure orders for its newer, larger Max 10 aircraft, which is still awaiting approval for service from the US Federal Aviation Administration. United Airlines CEO, Scott Kirby, has already stated that the airline is considering a plan without including the Max 10 and has reportedly explored potential deals with Boeing's competitor, Airbus.

In contrast, Ryanair remains committed to the Max 10, having signed a $40 billion deal to purchase up to 300 of these aircraft last year. O'Leary emphasized that the Max 10 order is vital to Ryanair's growth. He even offered to take some of the Max 10 deliveries earlier if other airlines decide not to proceed with their orders.

While expressing confidence in Boeing's aircraft, O'Leary acknowledged the need for the company to improve quality control and the quality of aircraft they deliver to their customers. To address this, Ryanair plans to increase its own engineers' presence in Boeing factories to conduct additional checks.

The delays in Boeing deliveries have caused some setbacks for Ryanair's growth plans, leading to a reduction in the airline's traffic forecast for the year ending in March 2024 from 185 million passengers to 183.5 million passengers.

Additionally, Ryanair has faced disputes with online travel agencies, which forced the airline to cut fares in order to fill unsold seats during the October-to-December quarter. However, the airline has recently struck deals with Love Holidays and Kiwi.com and is engaging in talks with other travel agencies to enable users to book flights directly on Ryanair's website.

Due to these challenges, Ryanair now expects full-year profit for the current financial year to be at the lower end of the previously forecasted range of €1.85 billion-€1.95 billion ($2 billion-$2.1 billion), compared to a November forecast of up to €2.05 billion ($2.2 billion). Nevertheless, this would still be an increase from the airline's previous record of €1.45 billion ($1.6 billion) earned in 2018, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With Ryanair firmly behind Boeing, it remains to be seen how the planemaker's CEO, David Calhoun, will navigate the challenges ahead. The unveiling of Boeing's full-year results on Wednesday will provide further insight into the company's progress and the impact of recent incidents on its performance.